Co-sponsored with Project NIA, the Chicago Freedom School, the Children and Family Justice Center at Northwestern University Law School and the Models for Change Initiative

Join us on Thursday, May 12, for a celebration of the creation of two zines that address the history and confront the current state of juvenile justice in the United States.

The Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, Project NIA, and the Chicago Freedom School will release a series of five zines to the public, created by teaching artists, Rachel Marie-Crane Williams and Elgin-Bokari T. Smith; activist and artist, Billy Dee; and youth at the Chicago Freedom School and the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center.

The zines feature the voices of those affected by the criminal legal system and also tackle the issues that affect all communities: the History of the Juvenile Court, Girls in the System, Youth Stories (of the Incarcerated), the School-to-Prison Pipeline, and the Prison Industrial Complex.

This zine series was developed in connection with “Unfinished Business–Juvenile Justice,” the community-curated exhibit at the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, on view through August 2011.

We are thrilled to co-sponsor this event with the Children and Family Justice Center at Northwestern University’s Law School and the Mental Health and Juvenile Justice Action Network of the Models for Change Initiative with funding from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The MacArthur Foundation is also releasing a graphic novel that outlines the rights of youth in the Illinois juvenile justice system, the content of which was collected from personal stories shared in youth and family focus groups. The graphic novel, prepared for the Illinois Mental Health and Juvenile Justice Action Network, was produced by Jean Davidson Meister, project manager, and Kim Miller, both of the Illinois Children’s Mental Health Partnership; Elgin-Bokari T. Smith, illustrator, and Julie Biehl, Children and Family Justice Center, Northwestern University School of Law; and Ashley Kittrell, graphic designer. The publication was developed as part of the Family Involvement Workgroup of the Mental Health/Juvenile Justice Action Network, coordinated by the National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice. The preparation of this document was supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

We will share these zines and handbooks with the public and those who care about the future of our youth. The work of creating a more just society continues, and we can all be part of the transformative social change through creative words and images.

About the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum
The Jane Addams Hull-House Museum serves as a dynamic memorial to social reformer Jane Addams, the first American woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, and her colleagues whose work changed the lives of their immigrant neighbors as well as national and international public policy. The Museum preserves and develops the original Hull-House site for the interpretation and continuation of the historic settlement house vision, linking research, education, and social engagement.

The Museum is located in two of the original settlement house buildings- the Hull Home, a National Historic Landmark, and the Residents' Dining Hall, a beautiful Arts and Crafts building that has welcomed some of the world's most important thinkers, artists and activists.

The Museum and its many vibrant programs make connections between the work of Hull-House residents and important contemporary social issues.

About Project NIA
Project NIA’s mission is to dramatically reduce the reliance on arrest, detention, and incarceration for addressing youth crime and to instead promote the use of restorative and transformative practices, a concept that relies on community-based alternatives.

About the Chicago Freedom School
The Chicago Freedom School provides a space where young people and adult allies can study the work of past movements, deepen their understanding of current social problems, build new coalitions and develop strategies for change. We support new generations of critical and independent thinking young people who use their unique experiences and power to create a just world.

About Models for Change
Models for Change is an effort to create successful and replicable models of juvenile justice reform through targeted investments in key states, with core support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Models for Change seeks to accelerate progress toward a more effective, fair, and developmentally sound juvenile justice system that holds young people accountable for their actions, provides for their rehabilitation, protects them from harm, increases their life chances, and manages the risk they pose to themselves and to the public. The initiative is underway in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, and Washington, and through action networks focusing on key issues, in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, and Wisconsin.

* All views expressed are those of the guests and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum or the University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Architecture and the Arts.